Job Discussion Forums

[maj0915]

Hey everyone, decided to come back to my current job and need to renew my residence permit, which expires on July 5th. How far in advance should I give over my passport to start processing? I'd like to take this opportunity to do some traveling but want to make sure I can get everything done in advance. If I give over my passport on say the 23rd or 24th, would that be enough? If the permit lapses while it's in the government office or whatever, would that prevent me from "overstaying" or whatever?

[twowheel]

I'd say now...as soon as possible, since your residence permit will expire in less than a month. Give the authorities 2-3 weeks to process things.

twowheel

[doogsville]

You'd probably be better to put the question to your FAO or whoever is dealing with your paperwork than us. I would say you need a month to be safe, but surely the person that got you the resident permit in the first place will know when they need your passport to take care of the renewal? If it expires on July 5th then you need to be talking to someone at your employers about it now.

[maj0915]

The person who handles it for me said the later date (24th) is enough time to process everything, but I'm a bit nervous about it. That said, I'd also like to get a trip in before I return home for the summer, I didn't get a chance to travel much this year.

[dean_a_jones]

As far as I know (and have experienced) as long as it is handed in for processing before the expiration date you should have no problems. You typically will get a permit back with the date of submission (again my experience) so you might keep that in mind in terms of when it is likely to expire next year (i.e. could be mid-June 2017 if you submit it now).

It seems to take 3 - 4 weeks to process, so allow for that amount of time if you are handing it in and needing to travel internationally at some point (it sounds like you are going home in summer).

As for internal travel--while it is being processed you should get a slip with your picture, passport number etc. on it that states your documents are being processed. This in theory works as a de facto ID and can be used to travel in China--I have used it before on trains only. It should work for flying as well, and in theory to check into hotels etc. But do bear in mind some people have reported being denied such things/have had to make their case when using it rather than a passport.

Those are the facts as far as my experience goes anyway.

Edit to add: Also, if you have your international flights booked, if you submit those they can usually process your new RP faster so you can catch your flight--I have done this and seen many others do the same. But worth noting that 'earlier' often means getting it back the day before you fly, which is not always convenient etc. depending on travel arrangements.